Several passengers on a United Airlines flight from Chicago to John Wayne Airport on Tuesday night tackled and used their belts to restrain a man who was harassing and scaring passengers, according to an Orange County man who was on the flight.

David Truong, owner of Mimi's Jewelry in Fountain Valley, said the erratic passenger on United Flight 473 put him on immediate alert.

"You see stuff like this on TV and the news, but you never think it's going to happen to you," Truong said Wednesday.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller identified the man as Arash Durrani, 26, who may have residences in Virginia and California. Eimiller said Durrani will be charged with interference with a flight crew, a federal offense.

Durrani, also known as "Ash," was taken into custody when the plane landed, officials said. According to imdb.com, Durrani is an actor, model and founder of GROW Clothing, a company geared toward promoting awareness of social movements and charities.

The incident on the plane began about 45 minutes into the flight from O'Hare Airport to John Wayne, Truong said.

Truong said a man began pacing around the plane and bothering passengers.

David Truong, owner of Mimi's Jewelry in Fountain Valley, two days after helping to restrain an erratic passenger on a United flight from Chicago to John Wayne Airport. PHOTO BY RICK BILLINGS
David Truong, owner of Mimi's Jewelry in Fountain Valley, helped restrain a man who behaving erratically on a United flight from Chicago to John Wayne Airport on Tuesday night. PHOTO BY LYNN SEEDEN
David Truong, owner of Mimi's Jewelry in Fountain Valley, worked with several other men Tuesday night to restrain an erratic passenger on a United Flight to JWA. Here he is with customer Jan Tubbiola at his store. PHOTO BY LYNN SEEDEN

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